The Midnight Sun Scene That Broke Fans' Hearts
On August 4th, 2020, after more than a decade spent waiting patiently, the long-neglected fans of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight saga were at long last given something new into which to sink their fangs: Midnight Sun, a fresh entry in the series recounting the events of Twilight from the perspective of the book's brooding male lead, Edward Cullen. The book's road to publication was a long one — in 2008, sections of an early draft were leaked online and Meyer cancelled further plans for the story, essentially revoking everyone's vampire privileges and sending her readers into fits of quiet weeping.
Now they can weep again, all thanks to Midnight Sun's narrative. The book's fresh new point of view is giving readers a bad case of the feels. One scene in particular seems to be hitting hard, if Reddit's /r/twilight forum is any indication.
It all starts around the 600-page mark. James, the novel's chief Jerk McGurk, has sent Edward a video in which he gets up to Jerk McGurk business, torturing one Bella Swan nearly to the point of death. Edward, feeling good and hopeless, crushes a bottle cap, a memento of his time with Bella, and starts to pray.
Edward's still giving people feels 15 years later
It's a heavy moment. "I didn't pray to my God," Edward narrates, "Instead, I prayed to her God (...) I prayed to her God with all the anguish of my damned, lost soul that he — or she, or it — would help me protect Bella from myself."
The provocative language, religious overtones, and overall sense of hopelessness apparently struck a chord with fans. One Reddit user stated, "Yeah, it broke me. My mind was blown, like 'SM, you madlad, what have you done?!' I loved it bc of how painful it was." Another chimed in, "I cried my eyes out. It freaking killed me. I too feel like I just went on a horrible breakup." Some users discussed what they saw as uncharacteristic religious leanings on the part of the protagonist, while others just lamented that the book only covered the events of the first Twilight novel, heartbroken that they wouldn't get to read the story's paranormal happily-ever-after from the point of view of Edward Cullen.
Meyer's books have always been divisive, and reviews for Midnight Sun have been predictably mixed. That said, the Twilight retelling sold over a million copies in its first week alone, according to The Hollywood Reporter, and news of its release led to Stephenie Meyer's official website crashing due to heavy traffic. While the author has stated that she doesn't intend to continue the series from Edward's perspective, it's hard to deny that there's plenty more brooding to milk.